VINCENT MANTSOE & DANCE THEATRE X

Presented by Texas Performing Arts and the Department of Theatre and Dance

Texas Performing Arts and the UT Department of Theatre and Dance present two of today’s most distinguished choreographers in an exciting evening of dance.

Vincent Mantsoe is one of post-apartheid South Africa’s leading choreographers. His French based company, Association Noa Company Vincent Mantsoe, creates contemporary African work that represents a true global culture of both dancers and disciplines.

Mantsoe’s piece Opera for Fools probes the center of the South African shebeen lifestyle during Apartheid, discovering what makes people enjoy their daily lives and enables them to forgive, but not forget. This vibrant production is a celebration of a people’s hope, anger, joy, and sometimes loneliness and despair.

Choreographer, dancer, and UT Department of Theatre and Dance Associate Professor of African Diaspora Dance Studies and the MFA Coordinator in Dance, Charles O. Anderson is artistic director of Dance Theatre X. Founded by Anderson in 2003, this Philadelphia based afro-contemporary dance theatre company was selected among the “25 to Watch” in 2008 by Dance Magazine.

Anderson presents a preview of his newest work, Restless Natives, a piece inspired by the writings of James Baldwin featuring an original poetry score by critically-acclaimed performance poet U…